Kenya Dig It

It’s month 8 on the World Race.

I’m in Kitale, Kenya, at Challenge Farm.
Kenya was not on the original route for me. We were going to be in Uganda this month, but because of the Ebola Virus outbreak, we were evacuated and re-routed to Kenya.

I live in my tent, and, since I gave away my sleeping pad last month, I sleep on the ground. Yep, I’ve become a hardcore camper haha! We have western toilets, going 8 for 8 here, yeah baby! The weather is high 70s in the daytime, and 50s at night. It rains once a day, hence the name of my team is Mrembo Mvua, which means Beautiful Rain in Swahili.

I am team treasurer this month, so on my free time, I’m often found playing with a calculator, updating Excel spreadsheets, counting money, and writing receipts, with a huge smile on my face. I can’t express how excited I am to use the analytical part of my brain. ((Back in high school, I was in the calculator team—yes, there is such a thing, our team won gold in district every year—and as a kid, I’d force my brother to play bank with me, and I’d write receipts for fun.)) Whatever floats my boat, right?

I camp out right beside the soccer field, so I get to run laps and sprints around the field to workout—and yes I get to wear my Vibrams, because there are no rocks!

My ministry host is a passionate woman, whose testimony has very much impacted me.
The property is incredible. Their goal is to take in street children and provide an education for them. They have boys’ and girls’ dorms, a soccer field, a playground, a cafeteria, a chapel, a small library, counseling offices, and classrooms. They also have a garden, a greenhouse, a farm, a posho meal (where they freshly grind their corn), and a big kitchen where they prepare their meals. My ministry host has a house in this property. This gated community is home to over 100 former street children, who otherwise would have no hope. These kids, many of whom are orphans, receive uniforms, meals, an education, and they are taught how to do chores. They are taught about Jesus, and how greatly loved they are by their Savior.

I get to be a part of this for one month, as a Bible teacher and counselor.
I am so humbled.

I had the honor of holding a 10-year-old orphan while he cried, and listening to his story and his fears. I got to hold his hand and pray with him. I told him he is not alone, and he is very loved. Now when he sees me, he smiles and gives me big hugs.

I was able to sit with two of the teachers, and encourage them. They are only a couple of years older than me. One of them is divorced, raising a child on her own, and the other is a single mother, who was never married. Both of them can light up the room with their beautiful smiles and their faith. They shared their stories with me, and I shared mine, and we concluded that we should continue on with great hope and trust in God’s faithfulness. I told them that the torch they carry, the hope they bring to the children, also lights their own path. The same way we believe God has plans for the children, we should believe God has plans for us.

A 14-year-old girl asked me to pray for her leg today, because it was hurting (she had been hit by a car years ago, so sometimes her leg really hurts) and the teachers and I gathered around her, prayed for God to take the pain away, and God took the pain away in Jesus’ name.

We are changing lives here. Sometimes as a missionary, I didn’t feel like I was doing much good, because I can’t always see the impact of prayer. I’m not God and I don’t have the view from heaven, from beginning to end. I can’t see if one sermon I preached in a Cambodian prison really made an impact, or if that one time I prayed with a little kid in the trash dump in Honduras really changed his life. I have to believe that it did make a difference, but sometimes I just go on faith.

Here in Kenya, God is letting me see the impact of my prayers. God is answering big prayers, right then and there. God keeps showing up and blowing my mind.

I really love this place. I really love these kids and the staff. It is such an honor to be here.

Thank you, again and again, to the people who funded me, who helped to send me, and who are currently in prayer for me. I am happy to report that much work is being done for the Kingdom of God, and many treasures are being stored up for us in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

I was reading Luke 8 this morning, and I thought of yall, my supporters, friends, and family back home. After Jesus cured the demon-possessed man, Jesus was getting in the boat to leave, and it says in verses 38-39:

The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.

Jesus doesn’t call all of us to go around the world, just like when he didn't let the man come along with Him, but He does call you to be a missionary wherever you are. I am praying for yall, and hoping you tell all over town how much Jesus has done for you. Pray for divine appointments, and be prepared in and out of season to share your testimony of God’s power. The same God who took away the leg pain of the 14-year-old girl here in Kenya is ready and able to show up for you. Keep the faith :]

Stay tuned for pictures. I will take some this week and be posting them so you can also see these beautiful faces and places.